


See Through Me

by Srrrochka



Series: Prompts and Tropes [1]
Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Feelings Realization, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Post-Dishonored (Video Game), Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Prompt Fill, Royal Spymaster Daud (Dishonored), Sharing a Bed, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28076901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Srrrochka/pseuds/Srrrochka
Summary: Prompt fill: Sharing a bedSpymaster Daud has been away on a mission for a couple of months and Corvo comes to realise just how much he misses him (and then some).
Relationships: Corvo Attano/Daud
Series: Prompts and Tropes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056869
Comments: 9
Kudos: 67





	See Through Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SeptemberSky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeptemberSky/gifts).



> I've been planning a whole bunch of DH fics for literal years so of course the first thing I post is a prompt fill I whipped up in a single day.

With a heavy sigh, Corvo leaned his back against the cool surface of the door leading out of his rooms. It was an excruciatingly long day and he knew another one just like it was to follow. And then another, and another, and another... But he shouldn't complain, this was his job as a Regent and he would do it dutifully.

Unfortunately, there was no hiding how tired he was — Emily could see it more than plainly and has been telling him he needed rest at every opportunity she got. She wasn't alone in that observation either; Corvo noticed the way some of the more cunning nobles were watching him, waiting for a slip up, waiting for a chance to get the better of him. It was a constant battle in a shape he wasn't used to and there was no time to take a break. He's been running full sprint ever since he got out of Coldridge with no finish line in sight.

His gaze rolled over the silent office he's spent most of his life in and his stomach churned. It was so alien, so unfamiliar, like a close friend that became a different person when you weren't looking.

And it was so empty.

Before, it used to be filled with laughter and joy — babbling and screeching of a little girl stomping her tiny feets as she ran from her mother, who chased her with the brightest smile Corvo has ever seen. Times have changed though, and nowadays, it rather tended to be filled with the sturdy reassurance of his Spymaster's presence and hushed conversations all the way into the night.

But Daud has been gone for the last three months, on Corvo's own command, following a political diversion all the way in Tyvia, and Corvo was beginning to realise just how keenly he felt his absence. The assassin was unwaveringly at his side ever since he washed up poisoned in the Flooded District — he helped him get Emily back from the Loyalists when he was at his weakest, it later turned out that he waged a war against a marked witch to protect the little Empress, he was always there to support him, and served the Crown with diligence Corvo has seen in a scarce few.

Daud was the only person he could lean on when times were hard, and not because he swore to serve the Empire — in the grand scheme of things it meant absolutely nothing — but because he knew exactly what Corvo was going through. He's seen the story from start to finish with every gory detail, and he knew how it all felt. They were two Serkonan men ripped from their home, people of the blade gifted with forbidden Void magic. Who else would understand?

Corvo missed him so dearly...

A rather weird idea struck him then but he pushed it away immediately with a wince, it would be a shameful invasion of privacy and he wouldn't dare do it to someone he trusted this much. But then again, no one had to know... Daud was far, far away, the servants were asleep, the guards were constricted to the levels below... No one would notice.

Corvo bit his lip, brows furrowed.

He pushed himself off the door and — the last glance at his detested lodgings, cementing his resolve — as quietly as he could, slipped out onto the corridor. The cold draft that perpetually chased through the hallways raised goosebumps up his arms but Daud's rooms were just a few steps away and soon he was safely inside again. Corvo knew he was being absolutely ridiculous but he couldn't help his heart beating faster when he entered. Just being there filled him with comfort.

Exhaling slowly, the Protector crossed the room and took the door on the left that led to the bedroom. A small, fond smile curled the corners of his mouth up at the sight. Daud never let the staff into his place so the bed was in a complete disarray and some of his clothes hung from half open drawers, possibly from when he was packing. It was always amusing to see the way he was making sure to keep his image as an orderly and strict person, but as soon as he was not within sight of prying eyes, he turned into a bit of a slop. He would always call it 'an organised chaos'.

He never thought of it much, but now it warmed Corvo's heart that Daud allowed him in close enough to see that.

Next to the bed, Corvo toed his shoes off and, not allowing himself another bout of doubt, slipped under the covers. Before he even managed to settle, Daud's scent surrounded him from all sides like an avalanche.

The cool fabric quickly picked up the temperature of his body, making the scent even stronger. It always made him think of sequoias back at home. Not quite, and significantly more complex, but similar enough for the association to form. Sequoias, tobacco smoke, soap... His throat tightened and he pressed his face into the pillow, pulling the duvet close around himself.

It was absurd. He was absurd. The whole world was absurd and Corvo's eyes stung with the longing for Daud to be there with him, to hold him close as they slept, to keep the nightmares away.

 _'I think we need to have a serious talk once he's back...'_ Corvo thought to himself, stomach twisting uneasily with the concept.

That was a worry for later, though. He should make use of the one time he's ever going to attempt such an indiscretion and maybe in the morning he's going to bottle it all up and never think of it again. But for now, pleasantly warm and relaxed in the soft sheets that smelled of comfort, he quickly nodded off, his mind, for once, blissfully blank.

He must have been extremely tired because his usual alertness failed to rouse him when someone came in. When his eyes cracked open a person was already kneeling next to the bed right in front of him.

"Corvo," Daud called his name softly, sounding like it was not the first time he did it.

Corvo blinked a couple of times, staring at him dumbly, his thoughts slowly trying to catch up with the events. And he wished they didn't. "You're back..." he said weekly, feeling heat spread on his cheeks. In three months of his absence Corvo decided to pick exactly the day he returned to sleep in his bed. Void, he will never live this down.

"I'm sorry," Corvo mumbled hurriedly while untangling himself from the sheets. "I'll go. You must be exhausted." He didn't dare look at Daud as he got up and went straight for the door, shame burning him inside out.

"Corvo," Daud called again and caught his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Stay."

The single word spoken hushedly and so close made Corvo's heart flutter in his chest. He let himself be turned around and finally met Daud's gaze, who, to Corvo's surprise, was looking at him with the fondest smile that ever donned his face, the little creases at the corners of his eyes, that he loved so much, stark on his skin.

With a single move Daud pulled him into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around Corvo's ribs. "I missed you too," he said into his neck in a low tone.

Corvo's breath shuddered. Of course he understood, he always did, even when Corvo didn't have the words to explain. So he could only press himself closer to the assassin, reveling in how real, how _tangible_ he was. It wasn't a dream. He was really there. The slow thum of his heartbeat was proof enough.

The man shifted just enough to look at Corvo, to trace a thumb along his cheekbone, and the Protector leaned into the touch like it was everything he ever wanted in life — eyes half lidded, enjoying the feeling of warm fingers, for once not clad in gloves.

"Come, let's go to sleep," Daud said, the softness never leaving his voice, and pulled Corvo along to the bed.

They both lied down on their own sides and Corvo, with his back to Daud, worried at his lip as the tightness in his chest returned with the ever stretching silence. He could have been misunderstanding this whole thing, maybe Daud didn't mean it like that or wanted something else from him... He didn't want to damage his trust just because he was selfish and weak.

Before he managed to get deeper down that spiral, a rustle of fabric behind him caught at his attention. The bed dipped just behind his back and Daud draped his arm over his chest, pressing the length of his entire body along Corvo's.

"I can nearly hear you overthinking," he whispered, amused, into the nape of Corvo's neck, sending a shiver down his spine. "It's fine, I've got you," he added more seriously and gave the Protector's chest a reassuring squeeze.

How did he deserve this, Corvo wondered, to have a gift in life as invaluable as Daud? To have someone who could look through him and see exactly what he needed? He didn't understand how he did it, how he just _knew_ , and understood even less why he wanted to do it if he got so little in return. But he was there now, a solid calming presence, holding him together.

Corvo pulled Daud's arm closer to rest along his sternum and tangled their fingers together. In response Daud pressed a light kiss to the back of his neck, and Corvo could feel the smile in it.

They fell asleep like that, heart to heart. They both claimed later that it was the best they've ever slept, but many more nights, just like that, followed after and there was no reason to just pick one.


End file.
